Many communication devices comprise digital assistants that can provide users with valuable information. The information provided to a user can be based on questions posed by the user or based on other triggers. For example, digital assistants, such as Siri provided by Apple, Inc.® and Google Now provided by Google, Inc.®, are software applications that understand natural language, and complete electronic tasks in response to user voice inputs. These digital assistants take dictation, read a text message or an e-mail message, look up phone numbers, anticipate requests, place calls, generate reminders, warn users, and provide many types of other information.
A problem exists in that a digital assistant tends to always speak in the same persona, with the same voice and voice characteristics (same gender, tone, cadence, timbre, phonation, resonance, . . . , etc.). Because of this, digital assistant are very poor at conveying urgency, importance, or other characteristics of an utterance. Also, digital assistant are very poor in providing a user experience that allows user to distinguish an emergency incident. For example, a police officer using a virtual assistance (sometimes referred to as a virtual partner) will have a same voice provide information about a license plate and a warning that an armed person is behind them. Therefore, a need exists for a method and apparatus for changing a persona or the voice characteristics of a digital assistant to better convey an urgency of an utterance.
Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions and/or relative positioning of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of various embodiments of the present invention. Also, common but well-understood elements that are useful or necessary in a commercially feasible embodiment are often not depicted in order to facilitate a less obstructed view of these various embodiments of the present invention. It will further be appreciated that certain actions and/or steps may be described or depicted in a particular order of occurrence while those skilled in the art will understand that such specificity with respect to sequence is not actually required.